HTC and Google rumored to rival iSlate with a Chrome OS tablet

HTC is thought to be launching a family of tablets at CES, including a flagship model based on Qualcomm’s chip and Google’s Chrome OS. The latest from the rumor mill: High Tech Computing (HTC) has allegedly teamed up with Google to create a Chrome OS-powered tablet that should compete with Apple’s iSlate device.

This isn’t the first time that the Taiwanese manufacturer of handheld devices is taking aim at the Cupertino, California-based consumer electronics powerhouse. HTC reportedly engineered a brand new Nexus One smartphone, due January 5, to Google’s spec sheet.

In addition, HTC has been confirmed as one of Google’s key hardware partners to release the first batch of netbooks certificated to run the Chrome OS. HTC is reportedly “confident” its upcoming tablet has what it takes to give Apple’s iSlate a decent run for its money. Australian news site Smarthouse first reported, and Gizmodo relayed, that HTC is gearing up to debut a family of tablets at CES, including a flagship device powered by Google’s Chrome OS:

HTC, who have been working closely with Google for the past 18 months have several working models of a touch tablet including one model, is based on the new Google Chrome Operating System say sources. An Android based device which is set to be shown privately to core HTC customers at the CES Show is set to incorporate new Qualcomm processors, touch technology and new software from Adobe.

Sources didn’t detail Qualcomm’s chip, but it could be the same 1GHz Snapdragon system-on-a-chip allegedly running inside the Nexus One. The Snapdragon chip combines an ARM-based Cortex-A8 CPU core, advanced GPU, and 512MB of RAM. Adobe software mentioned in the piece is most likely a rumored platform-agnostic solution for the creation, distribution, and rendering of e-publications on a wide variety of desktop and portable form factors.

FoxNews and Financial Times have Apple hosting a January 26 media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The all-things-mobile presentation, those publications reported, should include the iSlate announcement. A former Google China president and ex-Apple engineer well connected with Apple’s contract manufacturer Foxconn wrote in a blog post that iSlate will feature an “amazing user interface.” The device will be lighter than a MacBook Air, he wrote, and will sell for under a $1,000.

Christian’s Opinion

If you ask me, HTC’s tablet won’t be able to take on iSlate due to the performance gap between Chrome OS and an iPhone OS version to power Apple’s tablet. Although details about both operating systems are non-existent (or sketchy, at best), Chrome OS is a cloud-based operating system optimized to run web apps.

If the iPhone OS is any indication, its tablet-optimized version should be a natural fit for rich native applications, multimedia programs, 3D games, and lots of user interface eye candy. Nevertheless, it doesn’t surprise me that HTC is riding on the iSlate buzz considering 2010 belongs to tablets.

Speak Your Mind

Joe

This is exactly why Engatdget is losing ground in the android community. Here I’m going to write a article about something I know nothing about and well frankly there is no official information about and I’ll draw a fact-less conclusion like ”
If you ask me, HTC’s tablet won’t be able to take on iSlate due to the performance gap between Chrome OS and an iPhone OS version to power Apple’s tablet. Although details about both operating systems are non-existent (or sketchy, at best), Chrome OS is a cloud-based operating system optimized to run web app”. Dude, your a idiot. Stop writing. I’m tired of reading garbage about tech stuff by a-holes who obviously don’t know what they are talking about and missed class the day the instructor explained how to back up your references and do fact checking. I hope your not paid for this… Geek.com should think twice about posting crap like this and the editor should be fired for allowing it to happen.
Wait BTW that is just Joe’s Opinion.